Betsy's Musings

Why First Fridays Are Important
to the Life of the Williamsport Community

Originally published in 6/4/08 Web Weekly

A children's picture has motivated me for years.

Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss is the story of an elephant who hears a small voice on a small flower and he realizes there must be a very small being on that flower - a living being he calls a "Who." The rest of Horton's world thinks he's crazy and they want to stomp out the flower he is determined to protect. So Horton tells this small "Who" to get all the other "Whos" to yell as loudly as possible so the would-be stompers will hear their voices and realize they can't be destroyed. So "Who #1" gathers all the other "Whos" to join him in yelling, "We are here! We are here!" Only when every single voice is raised, including the one who was too busy to try, do the "Whos" down in "Whoville" make themselves known and save their town.

First Friday calls on every business in Downtown Williamsport to present some special event or exhibit to tell the surrounding community "We are here! We are here!" And it's working! Whereas Otto's might schedule a signing for any old day, if we schedule it on First Friday, we are sure to see a good number of shoppers and/or tourists stop by to visit with our authors who are signing.

This First Friday three authors will be sharing their particular insights and experiences with our guests at Otto's.

Susan Ross and Michael Musheno are the authors of Deployed, an in-depth study of the effect of the Iraq War on the members of the Army Reserves who were called up to augment the efforts of the regular army. They interviewed members of one unit after they returned from active duty, which in many cases, lasted almost two years. They categorized them as adapted, struggling or resistant and showed how their experiences almost never met their expectations and why. The subtitle of their book is How Reservists Bear the Burden of Iraq. Susan will be one of our guest authors.

And then we have Ben Cramer, the editor of the 13^th edition of Pennsylvania Hiking Trails, written with the Keystone Trails Association. Each of the hundreds of trails is described and references are given for maps and further information.

And lastly, but by no means least, we have Mary Woods, author and illustrator of a treatise on love called The Heart of the Matter.

They will be signing from 5 to 8 this First Friday. Come meet them. "We are here! We are here!"

Setting the Record Straight!

Dear Readers,

To paraphrase a well known quote, “Rumors of (our) demise have been greatly exaggerated.” Everyday someone asks me if Otto’s is going out of business. Two reporters from the Sun Gazette have also asked. My answer to all is “No!” We have been the community bookstore in this town for 166 years and we hope to continue for the next 166 years. In spite of my almost daily denials, somebody out there is still spreading the rumor that our days are numbered. If someone knows something I don’t know about the end of our world, please come directly to me with the information.

We suffered a loss last year but have cut our advertising and payroll expenses and have rebounded nicely. We are in better financial shape than we have been in years. We are open more hours than any other small business in the downtown area and have no intention of cutting our hours: five days a week, 9 to 8, Sat., 9 to 6 and Sun., 1 to 4 (Closed for national holidays.) Our service has improved—many special orders can be received in less than 24 hours. Our website (www.ottobookstore.com) is expanded with staff recommendations and a list of regional books. And we have free candy on the counter! No, we are not about to close.

Betsy (from Otto’s) Rider

I Am a Bookseller Because...
written for NAIBA Bookseller Competition

I am a bookseller because I wanted to be everything else. I wanted to be a social worker, so I take extra time helping the ones who are hurting to find an answer to their problems. I wanted to be a teacher, so I show parents how to get their children excited about books. I wanted to be a writer, so I write reviews of books in the local papers. I wanted to be an actress, so I give book-talks and record radio and TV commercials that use all the “ham” that is in me. I wanted to be a community builder, so I take an active part in Downtown revitalization. I wanted to be a preacher, so I choose uplifting books to feature in my advertising. I wanted to be a mother, so I keep in contact with my ten grown children and my thirteen grandchildren by calling on their talents in my advertising and by supplementing their incomes with outsourced bookkeeping and part-time employment. I am a bookseller—I am everything I ever wanted to be!

Bookselling but Doth Suffer a Sea Change
Winning essay for NAIBA Bookseller's Convention in Atlantic City

When my Dad started working at the Otto Book Store in 1905, his main drawing card was his large, carefully designed show window displays. The throngs passing his store, mostly on “Market Day,” stopped to see what was new and interesting. He never advertised. He formed personal relationships with the small town clientele. He offered free gift wrapping and free delivery and he sold wallpaper and window shades so he could afford to sell books. When the town’s leading dry goods store opened a book department, he thought his business was sure to sink. They had a far better location and four floors of other merchandise to draw them first to their store. But he trimmed his sails and kept her steady as she blows and he stayed afloat. During the depression, he turned all the books face out on the shelves and prayed. He cut his own salary and staff and, with the help of a woman he thought of as an angel from heaven, he came through to calmer seas.

When my husband and I took on the responsibility for what had become the “family bookstore” (supporting my mother and our ten children) our first “sea change” was in the neighborhood. What had been a bustling shopping center in a mid-size town became all but abandoned when Crown America built an enclosed mall boasting two chain bookstores and all the major department stores that had anchored our downtown. (Plus a whole lot more) It became the major shopping location for miles around. But there were still office workers downtown in the county and federal courthouses and in the lawyers’ offices surrounding them and also in the many banks and investment firms that surrounded them. So we hoisted up our flag by way of radio advertising and trimmed the front of our store with new releases in the windows and sale books on the table outside in front of the windows. And we continued to offer free gift wrap and free delivery service. And we weathered the storm.

And then there was “Hurricane Internet.” Suddenly the savvy shoppers didn’t have to go any further than their computers to get the books they wanted without paying sales tax. And there were supermarkets and discount chains using books as loss leaders, offering 40% off the hottest titles and 30% off all they can cram in their book displays next to the cash registers. And now we’re told a mighty chain will be opening a bookstore 15 times the size of ours in the mall where our town shops. And buildings in our neighborhood are deteriorating and are being abandoned as banks consolidate and older retailers retire. Oh, what a mighty sea change!

So how are we charting our course to keep our ship afloat? We designed our own website and feature lesser known regional books—books faraway buyers in chains of all sorts might not know about. We stepped up our special ordering so most of our books come in a day or two. We offer Paperback Book Club cards to encourage frequent shopping. We sell fund raising coupons to schools so that their supporters can get $10 worth of “regular price merchandise” for $9 and the school pockets $1. We host “Work Free Book Fairs” where the school or library or club sends out the invitations and every “regular price” item purchased that particular evening that is presented at the counter along with the invitation earns the club 20% of the purchase price. We print up a brochure boasting that we are a “real bookstore” and place them in the 9 nearby hotels and the Chamber’s Visitors Center Center. We offer discounts to students at two local colleges and supply them with our brochure. We expand our advertising to include TV spots, newspaper articles as well as ads and enlarge our listening audience for our radio commercials. In all our advertising we project the image of knowledgeable staff and caring service. Our radio persona—“Betsy from Otto’s, a book lover’s paradise, in the heart of downtown Williamsport”—has become so well known that invitations come from schools, churches and social clubs for “Book Talks.” And so we take our books to where people congregate. We even take books into prisons and keep up steady service by mail with the inmates we’ve met at these sales. We buy tempting remainders and use our large sidewalk for ongoing sidewalk sales that draw shoppers from far and wide. Although the wallpaper and window shades are long gone, we sell sale books now so we can afford to sell regular priced books. And we continue to pray for calm seas and steady breezes.

Declaring Your Independence

Why It's Important to be an Independent Bookseller

By Betsy Rider, Independent Bookseller

(The following is an essay I wrote for a Bookseller’s contest and it answers the question why Otto’s has lasted 166 years and why we make a big deal about it by pulling out all the stops to celebrate our anniversary every year.)

In this era of homogenized retailing, it’s more important than ever for a community to have an independent bookseller to hold a mirror to its face and say “This is who we are.”

When I buy books, I think of the particular customer who bought this kind of book before and who might want another on a similar subject. The books I buy might not have huge print runs or have celebrities endorsing them, but they reflect the interests of the individuals in my community. Visitors to our store will look at the selection in certain sections and say “You have customers for this type of book? I want to stick around and meet them!” My inventory is a reflection of my community.

When I sell books, I remember who got what for whom last birthday and what they thought about it when they came in to share their reaction. Although I can’t read all the books (Really!), I talk about the books with my customers and pass on their recommendations as well as my own. Customers who are not especially looking to buy a book, stop in to tell us their good news and their bad news. We share in their lives. We are a vital link in our community.

When a book is written by a member of our community or is written about our community, our advertising and celebration gives that book far more publicity than it would receive from a chain store.

When our community has to deal with a local crisis, we supply helpful books and share in our customers’ pain. We can be a voice for our community’s values in our advertising.

When the specters of the Patriot Act are raised and booksellers live with the threat of government subpoenaing their records, our customers are assured that our bookkeeping does not reflect who bought what—Big Brother would have to read our minds for that information. Our community is safe with this independent bookseller.

When I retire or die (Same thing?) I will have the satisfaction of having been a vital part of the life of our community. I have been its independent bookseller.

A Dozen Things I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Bookselling

Because we will be celebrating our 166^th Anniversary this Friday and because I’ve read in the Sun Gazette that I have helped neighboring merchants make a success of their business, I thought it might be good to sum up what it is my seventy plus years in our bookstore have taught me. What pearls of wisdom can I share?

First thing that comes to mind is…you can fall asleep just about anywhere. When I was a little kid waiting for my parents to finish up on a late-night pre-Christmas sales day, I’d gather a bunch of our coats, shove the packing material out of the way and curl up on the back of the table that held up our plywood greeting card rack. When they would finally close up, they’d barely wake me to carry me to the bus to take me home.

Now, when late nights writing advertising materials have left me in danger of falling over at my desk, I sneak back to the extra bathroom we converted into a “break room” and curl up on the plywood and foam bench (?) and take a twenty minute “power nap,” under a collection of coats.

Secondly, our business is our “party,” not just for anniversaries or “First Fridays,” but every day. Our customers are our welcome guests and we enjoy each other’s company. While we don’t like to hold anyone longer than they can stay, we share experiences, stories, sometimes sorrows and frequently laughs—just like a party at home.

Third, when I train staff to take specific requests, I tell them to take just an extra moment to find out how long it would take us to get the book we don’t have on our shelves. So we don’t say “We can order it for you,” bringing to mind frustrating experiences our customers might have had with the chains or the Internet, we say, “it’s not here today but we can have it for you tomorrow (or in three days) (or occasionally, a week to ten days).”

Fourth, motherhood is a very good training ground for customer relations. When any of my ten kids had a need he or she couldn’t meet without help, I’d do everything I could to help. When our customers are buying a gift, we offer to gift wrap it for them free. If they can’t get in to the store, we deliver free to their home or to their friend’s home. If they need a special message written on the card, we not only help them choose the card but we help them choose the words they’re trying to say and write it on the card if they’re doing it all by phone. If shipping is needed, we take care of that too for only the cost of the postage or shippers’ fee.

Fifth, we know today more than ever, time is money and so we try to wait on customers within moments of their arrival at our counter. If we can’t get to them right away because of other customers ahead of them, we acknowledge their presence and tell them we’ll be right with them.

Sixth, when you’re selling books, it helps to read them. In choosing staff, we keep in mind which areas of our stock need an employee to become familiar with the books in it. We’ve often hired teachers or librarians to help us recommend books and we all read as much as our time allows. Most of my fellow downtown merchants do a pretty good job knowing what they sell, unlike the checkout counter mentality that pervades the strips and the malls. It’s rare to find someone that can help you make up your mind in those places.

Seventh, when someone rubs you the wrong way, give them the benefit of the doubt and don’t judge—you don’t know where their attitude is coming from. Don’t return criticism with criticism. If their opinion is really biased or unfair, in your opinion, don’t argue, just smile and tell them a little of the way you think. Then listen as long as you can…and smile.

Eighth, there is no job “beneath you.” I remember when my Dad hired a man to clean out our basement after one of the floods and the man did a superior job, Dad not only praised him but he made a point of telling me that I should never think of any job well done as a lesser accomplishment. (We all share in the vacuuming, the window washing and the sidewalk sweeping.)

Ninth, remember the Downtown is our neighborhood. Share all the good things you know about your neighbors with anyone who asks. I don’t know where I read it, but in one of the travel books, I read the best way to find a good restaurant is to go into a bookstore and ask for their recommendations. You have no idea how true that is. We also direct people to the other unique shops in our neighborhood. If they come back to them at a later date, they might just stop back in to browse our books.

Tenth, set your hours by your customer’s clocks. And then, keep them! If many of your customers want to call in when they first get to their offices, be open early. If others can’t get to your shop until after their office closes, be open late. Our hours, based on our customers’ needs are 9 to 8 five days a week, Saturdays, 9 to 6 and Sundays, 1 to 4. We never, never close up early because “there’s nothing much doing!” We’ve trudged in by foot in 10 inch snow to answer phones and taken our brochures to the hotels where other people were snowed in, to invite them to walk the block or two for the diversion our business offers.

Eleventh, join any association or chamber that gives you an opportunity to follow your membership fee with ideas to help your business or those of your neighbors.

Twelfth, remember people in this community love their home town. In our business that insight inspires our huge selection of books of regional interest. And that is what our 166^th Anniversary Party is all about.

Seven authors of regional books published this year are going to be our guests. Susan Tassin will be signing Pennsylvania Ghost Towns and sharing her experiences researching the book in such faintly remembered locations as Masten, Azilum and Fort Antes.

Eric Smith, once a reporter for the Sun Gazette and now on the staff at Lock Haven University, will be signing his book, Clinton County. Customers with roots in that area will be pouring over the mostly pictorial history for scenes they remember.

Joan Blank, a Court House employee, will be signing the book she wrote about her hometown, Around Hughesville, a Postcard History. Both of these two authors and the next one are published by Arcadia, the publisher who has learned what we’ve known all along, that is, readers love reading about their hometown.

Sherry Gardner, who has worked in regional TV news, put together a history of her native region and published it as Around Picture Rocks, a Postcard History. She says she has almost enough postcards left over to make another book of them!

Robin Van Auken and Lou Hunsinger, Jr., who, between them, have written almost a dozen books of regional history, will be signing all their books including the three volume history from the pages of The Sun Gazette, which we just started selling in 2007.

And lastly, because our immediate neighbors to the east want to read about Montoursville, we’ve included Larry Kimport, who wrote a novel, A Small Harvest of Pretty Days. It’s the story of the last days of a drifter who might have been known in his youth as Huck Finn, and how he found true love in Montoursville. There’s a lot of real historical background in it along with a story that should be accompanied by the piano playing that entertained during the silent movies. It’s fun and our Anniversary party should be too. The Uptown Music Collective will be providing live music and Ozzie and Mae will be supplying their Mexican treats. It will start at 5 and end at 8 (or whenever).

OPEN
Monday through Friday, 9 to 8; Saturday, 9 to 6; Sunday 1 to 4

You can call us at 570-326-5764 or 888-762-4526

You can e-mail us at

ottobook@comcast.net